Study on the “aplecs” of L’Alt Pirineu Natural Park and its area of influence

From May to October 2013 the Silene Association studied around twenty aplecs (a type of local pilgrimage with a significant identity value for local communities) held in L’Alt Pirineu Natural Park and its socio-economic area of influence. This work embraced the natural, social, cultural and spiritual dimensions of these popular events that take place in areas of outstanding natural beauty. The project, partially funded by the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Food and Natural Environment of Catalonia, and co-financed by EAFRD, aimed to analyze and publicize the intangible heritage of aplecs linked to this territory and to improve the ability of key stakeholders to conserve and promote them.

The work consisted of three main aspects: awareness-raising amongst the local population, the training of Park management staff, and a campaign amongst Park visitors and local people using activities such as document retrieval, field observation and interviews and meetings with key stakeholders to promote the celebration of these aplecs. The Second Workshop on Art, Nature and Spirituality at the Centre d’Art i Natura of Farrera de Pallars, held 6–8 September 2013, generated a participatory framework between the main stakeholders of the aplecs and the team from Silene, which help to acknowledge and include all key aspects of these traditional events.